Everybody Hurts
by Jackson1967
Summary: Natalie disappeared from her family's home one Summer's day and hasn't been seen since. It's been five years since that ill- fated day; where is she and is Natalie still alive? And how does Ryan fit in to it all?
1. Chapter 1

Title : Everybody Hurts  
Pairing : Ryan Wolfe & Natalie Rebecca Willows  
Rating : PG-13ish  
Featuring : Miami CSIs and Natalie's family  
Summary : Natalie disappeared from her family's home one Summer's day and hasn't been seen since. It's been five years since that ill- fated day; where is she and is Natalie still alive? And how does Ryan fit in to it all?

Chapter One

( Flashback )

Natalie quickly packed her stuff as she looked around her bedroom. The Las Vegas home that she shared with her mom was empty; her two younger sisters Clarissa and Jade were at school.

That was the last time Natalie would be seen in Vegas. That day she vanished from her home, leaving no note or form of contact behind, and caught the bus to Miami. There she planned to live and earn a living to keep her fed and watered.

A few months later she met CSI Ryan Wolfe, who offered to let her stay at his condo. Without a second thought, Natalie agreed.

( End of Flashback )

( Present Day )

"Nat..." Ryan began, stroking his Natalie's hair as she lay on his lap on the couch. "Why'd you leave Vegas?"

She gave a sigh, not really wanting to tell him. A minute passed and then with another sigh she said, "I couldn't take it anymore. I was just so scared. My stepdad was abusing me. And instead of siding with me, Mom sided with him. So I didn't have much of a choice – I had to leave." She looked down at her hand where a diamond ring sparkled in the light. They'd been together for a year and a half when they'd finally decided to tie the knot. One secret wedding later and the loving pair were officially married.

"And here with you, I feel so... so safe," Natalie continued. "I love you so much..."

"I love you too," Ryan replied with a smiled. "I love you more deeply than words could ever describe..."

~

Meanwhile, Natalie's family were searching for her everywhere, without any success. No money had been taken out of her account, which made them fear the worst. But Natalie had been smart – she'd taken out all her money and closed her account, setting up one instead in Miami under her married name. She also bought a new cell phone to ward off them trying to call and trace her that way.

Upon hearing that her niece has gone, Catherine uses all her connections to try and find Natalie but all the leads end up fruitless.

One evening the police contacted her. "A body washed up onto the shore of Lake Mead," the officer told her. "I know this is hard, but she matches your missing persons description..." He faltered for a minute, then continued, "Can you come in and formally ID her?"

Panic washed over her as she rushed to the morgue. Panic, then a wave of relief when she saw that the body on the cold metal table wasn't the body of her niece.

Dr Al Robbins was watching her silently. "It's not her, is it?"

Catherine shook her head. "No... So there's still some sort of hope that she's still out there somewhere... Hopefully alive..."

~

"Ryan..." Natalie began, poking her head round the bedroom door.

Her husband smiled upon seeing her. He was so happy that she'd come into his life and that their marriage was such a happy one. "Yes, my love?"

"I'm...I'm pregnant..." she replied, a small smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

Ryan's eyes widened. Seriously? You're not joking?" When she shook her head he gave a whoop of happiness. "That's amazing! I'm gonna be a father!" He ran over and picked her up, twirling her as he did so. "Oh, Nat... I love you so much... And now you're carrying our first child," he crooned, giving her stomach a rub.

She smiled. "I love you too. I'm so excited!"

"In how long?"

Quickly she did a mental count. "Six months, give or take..."

Cupping her face with his hands, Ryan kissed her. His kiss was long and passionate and it spoke volumes about how much he cared for her and how much he dreaded losing her.

Natalie smiled against his lips, kissing him back. He was so wonderful to her and she loved him to bits. More importantly, he made her feel safe. And that, she thought, was a wonderful place to be. He was the first and only person she loved and trusted with her life.

Will Natalie's family ever find her alive? And will they ever discover her marriage?  
(have the above sentence as end chapter note)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"I can't believe I'm gonna be a father!" Ryan announced excitedly, as he cuddled Natalie. "And in only six months!"

Natalie grinned seeing just how excited Ryan was. For a moment her thoughts went back to her family but then she shook her head, clearing her mind from them.

Her family were worried like crazy about her. They had no idea where she was or even who she was with. One day Catherine called Horatio, begging for him to help her find her niece, but Horatio couldn't help either as he had no idea Natalie was actually in Miami and was married to one of his CSIs.

All her family could do was continue searching for her and pray that she was safe, wherever she was. After a while they decided to go search in Miami, unaware that that was the city in which their darling girl was hiding, happily married to CSI Wolfe and expecting their first child.

Upon arrival the family split up to look for her and several hours later Natalie's mom, Alexis spotted her daughter walking along the pier with a stranger. Alexis watched as the couple shared an intimate moment together then headed back to their condo. Alexis and the others silently followed them and watched them slip into a stunning condo, all thee while wondering who the guy was.

Once inside the condo, Natalie opened the top window; her baby bump was beginning to show and she rubbed it lovingly. Putting some music on, Ryan walked over to Natalie, embracing her and passionately kissing her. All of this was seen by Alexis and the others who now were even more stumped than ever before.

As Ryan rested his left hand on Natalie's bump, he felt it kick for the first time and it made Ryan smile knowing that baby Wolfe was making its presence known. It suddenly made Ryan realise just how much this baby meant to him. He looked at his glowing wife and it dawned on Ryan just how lucky he was to be married to Natalie; she was the only person that he loved completely with all of his heart and he knew that he always would.

Natalie's parents were trying to get over the shock of seeing their daughter alive, wondering who the guy was and hoping that he was treating her like a princess. As for Natalie, being pregnant was something that she was enjoying, especially at night when Ryan rested his hand on the baby bump and softly rubbed it. The pair knew that their lives were gonna get even more perfect when their baby was born; Ryan couldn't wait.

It made Ryan feel so happy and loved and he knew that he was very lucky to be married to Natalie. He knew that their life was almost complete and the birth of their first child would mean that their life was finally complete.

"I'm so glad that I'm married to you, darling," Natalie told Ryan happily as they lay in bed that night.

"I'm glad too," he replied, kissing her passionately. Gently he pulled her closer to him, not breaking the kiss. A moment later the two pulled apart and just cuddled lovingly as Natalie rested her head on Ryan's bare chest. Ryan gave a smile, wrapping both arms around his wife who had by now dozed off. Happy thoughts of her and their child floated around in Ryan's head and a moment later he too was asleep.

Will Natalie's parents like Ryan and how will they react to the pregnancy?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Natalie didn't want to be found; all she wanted to do was to live her life peacefully with Ryan who she knew was the right choice for her. She didn't think that her mom would allow Natalie to live her life the way that Nat wanted. Ryan knew that Natalie didn't want to hear from her all her family except Catherine, who Natalie thought of as her mom as opposed to her biological mom. Natalie had always wanted to live in Miami and now thanks to falling in love with Ryan, that dream had come true in a special way.

Five long years had passed since Natalie had vanished from Vegas. During that whole time she'd been in Miami and was in a loving relationship-turned-marriage with Ryan. Unbeknown to Natalie however, her mother had located. The female felt relief that her daughter was still alive; she wasn't sure though if her daughter would speak to her after what had happened in Vegas with Damon, who still denied abusing Natalie.

Ryan knew the whole story of the abuse since Nat had told him about it and Ryan knew that she was so much better off with him in Miami. He didn't want to lose her, knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it if he lost the love of his life. He was prepared to fight for his wife, even if it meant a messy fight with Alexa. He knew that Natalie alone could decide where she wanted to live, but he was sure that she'd stay with him. He knew that she felt safe with him and their love was unconditional; they were also both excited about the arrival of their baby who was due in six months.

Natalie knew that her mom would make her go back home but she was going to refuse because she wouldn't give up her life with Ryan for anything.

"Damon was so evil and he denied everything when I told Mom. And she believed him over her own daughter! She called me a liar, but I never lied, not ever. I had no one to turn to and so I ran away. But maybe now she'll realise that I was right all along. But then again, maybe she won't . My life has changed so much since I met you and I'm so glad that I ran away; so much so that I don't want to leave you or ever lose you.

"I don't want to lose you either," Ryan replied, embracing her. "I love you with every part of me."

"I love you too and always will," his wife replied, smiling as Ryan rubbed her baby bump and sighed, knowing that he

was just as excited as her about the arrival of baby Wolfe.

As he thought about the baby, he realised that it was fate that had brought him and Natalie together, knew that it was fate that had made her enter his life. Ryan hoped that Nat's mom would leave her alone to live her life as she wanted. He wasn't sure whether her family would like him or not, but it didn't really bother him as he knew that Natalie loved him with all her heart and he loved her; that was all that mattered. It made Ryan's heart flutter just thinking of it.

Every day when he'd get back from the lab, he'd find Natalie on the sofa asleep. He would place a soft kiss on her forehead and watch her sleep peacefully in the evening sun. Every day it made Ryan love her more and more, even though he didn't think it'd been possible to love her more than her already did. He felt so lucky to be with her and he never wanted their love to end.

Will Natalie's mom drive a wedge between Ryan and Natalie by doing something horrible?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

When Natalie and Ryan went to have the ultrasound and saw their baby for the first time, it made them smile.

They left feeling even more excited about the birth of their first child, having found out that their baby was due in January.

Ryan knew how lucky he was to have Natalie in his life and for Natalie, she felt so happy with Ryan and hoped her mother wouldn't ruin her marriage to Ryan… but was unaware what was gonna happen next...

A few days had passed,and Natalie was out at the beach when Alexis walked over to Natalie along with Clarissa and Jade.

They had missed their sister so much. Jade asked Natalie, "Why did you leave home?"

Natalie sighed then admitted, "Something bad happened all that time ago, I was protecting myself. I've told Ryan about it."

Jade kind of understood when Alexis attacked Natalie and told her, "You're such a liar! Damon didn't do anything to you!"

Natalie resorted "Ha, believe what you damn well like but you can't see what happened in front of your eyes."

At that point Ryan appeared then saw Alexis hit Natalie. He rushed over and pushed Alexis away from Natalie, who stayed close to Ryan as Alexis asked "Who the hell are you?"

An angry Ryan then replied, "Someone you don't want to cross."

A cut above Natalie's right eye was bleeding. Ryan lead Natalie away from her mother, Clarissa and Jade… who realized that Natalie was right all along and hoped that they would see their sister again.

Once back at their condo, Ryan was tending to Natalie's injury and was gentle and when Natalie admitted, "Clarissa and Jade miss me, and they were so scared after seeing what she did to me."

Ryan replied, " I know, sweetheart, and you're safe now with me."

To which Natalie nodded and Ryan applied a small band aid, to Natalie's cut. Once done, Ryan put his home medicine kit away and comforted Natalie in his own way.

Natalie knew how angry Ryan had been earlier and knew that he was being protective of her and their baby.

Later that night, Natalie and Ryan were in bed when Natalie told Ryan, "I'm glad you protected me like that. I love you so."

"I had to protect you and our unborn child from her, and I love you too."

Natalie understood and snuggled in closer to Ryan, who traced Natalie's cheek with his knuckles and softly kissed her. Natalie returned the kiss while their baby moved around, still unable to be felt by their mummy, let alone daddy. Natalie closed her eyes and was asleep when Ryan looked at her, and placed a loving kiss on her forehead softly before he fell asleep himself while thinking how much he hated Alexis for what she had done to Natalie.

Ryan was up early, and he watched Natalie sleep. It made Ryan love her even more to see her so peacefully and beautifully immersed in what he hoped to be nice dreams, and he smiled to himself. He had the day off so he decided to spend it with Natalie in the privacy of their condo.

Natalie woke up a couple of hours later as Ryan let her sleep while he showered and thought about things. Natalie woke up to find Ryan watching her, and she smiled to him and Ryan returned the smile then walked over and embraced Natalie in his arms and kissed her passionately. Natalie kept a close hold of Ryan, who knew that neither of them wanted to lose each other.

Ryan told Natalie, "I want you to know that you'll never lose me."

Natalie replied, " I know, and I don't want to lose you either."

Will Natalie ever discover a hidden truth between her mom and Catherine or will it be heartbreak for Natalie?


End file.
